


be strong, one last time (and make the hard decisions)

by FeugoFox42



Category: RWBY
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Last Thoughts, Potential Spoilers, RWBY Volume 8 Prediction, power transfer, though more hurting than comforting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28502664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeugoFox42/pseuds/FeugoFox42
Summary: In what she believes to be her final moments, Penny makes her way over to Nora to ask her to deliver a message
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	be strong, one last time (and make the hard decisions)

**Author's Note:**

> Minor Spoilers for RWBY Volume 8. If you have not seen the teaser for Vol 8 pt. 2, this references that teaser

Penny felt it coming this time. 

When she was fighting in the Vytal Tournament against Pyrrha Nikos, there was something off about Miss Nikos’ reaction to her attack. The esteemed warrior exerted far more force than they both knew was necessary to nullify her assault on her - judging from the files in her memory bank, there was a moment of panic on Pyrrha’s face before the secret android was torn apart.

But as for her, she barely recalled anything happening. Only that she felt that her joints were being severed by the strings of her swords, then darkness.

In retrospect, the blissfulness of not having any idea her demise was upon her made it relivable, if painfully.

But this time?

Penny felt it coming this time.

All the damage from everything that had transpired in the last 48hrs took a toll on her mechanical body far greater than even its Aura enhanced chassis could cope with, and it was systematically shutting down as a result. The slower final ticks of her metaphorical internal clock dragging on far longer than she knew they should, the power within her failing to sustain her for much longer. The feeling that in mere moments, she would cease to be once more. And with how her father’s health currently was at present, she knew without doubt that either this would be the last time she-

She daren’t say it or even think it, but it was the truth: either this was the final hour of her life, or her father would reattempt to build her again, sacrificing the last of his own Aura to give Penny one final chance of a life.

No matter which scenario played out, Penny would not see her father again. Amity Coliseum was far too high in the atmosphere, even with its failing thrusters and descending trajectory, and far too far away for her to make it there before her life would fizzle away. 

**\--- Chances of success - 0.00% ---**

But she couldn’t just lay here and not attempt something. 

Yes, she informed him when last she had contact with him that she loved him. And that was still true at this moment. But the situation surrounding that was… less than ideal. 

(An understatement if ever she gave one - she fell back to Remnant from the lower atmosphere, burning up on re-entry with the speed at which she hurtled towards Remnant’s surface. The only relative silver lining to the whole ordeal was that her systems were rebooting for most of the latter part of the fall, so she had no recollection of that part.)

Perhaps she should try to contact her father?

But again, there was the distance playing against her chances. That, and she was on the final drags of her power - doing this would certainly drain what she had left in her tank before she got a chance to say anything meaningful, if anything at all.

Oh, and with Amity below broadcasting altitude, Remnant wide communication was a no-go once more. Even contact within the Kingdom was limited.

**\--- Chances of success - 4.31% ---**

It wasn’t nothing, that’s a plus. She didn’t have much time left, there was no pain in trying.

**\--- CONTACTING ‘Pietro Poledina - Dad’ ---**

**\--- CONTACTING ---** **  
** **\--- CONTACTING---** **  
** **\--- CONT||**

 **\--- NO CONNECTION AVAILABLE ---** **  
** **\--- TERMINATED ---**

She sighed a pained sigh, feeling her systems protest as she did. At least she told her Dad she loved him.

Penny could not cry; even Pietro Polendina, mastermind as he was, could not even begin to approximate the complexities of making an android cry. She could feel the emotion associated with the sensation, but to find a way of organically producing a solution that could simulate tears was a step too far.

And right now, crying would be ideal.

She could not say goodbye to her friends. The last she had seen of Friends Yang, Oscar, Ren and Jaune, they had just split the party to undertake their separate tasks. They parted on less than perfect circumstances, but they were not hostile towards each other. 

Still…

Friends Weiss and Blake had done so much for her since she had landed outside Schnee Manor. Weiss’ family had provided a place for her to rest, a doctor in their old family butler to look at her ailments, even her younger brother had called the doctor behind Weiss’ back and helped move her broken body up to this room. And Blake had been so strong, physically doing a lot of the lifting for them.

And then there was Friend Ruby.

Oh, Ruby…

Penny was certain, after witnessing Yang and Blake interacting and wishing at times that she and Ruby had something similar, that she could possibly be experiencing romantic attraction towards her first true friend. She cared for her safety almost more than her own, and she felt very secure around her to the point where she was sure she could say anything to her and have her support, even if their ideas conflicted. 

Ruby made Penny feel safe.

And she was dying again. This would be something she would take with her to her grave. And she didn’t want that. If not Ruby, then _someone_ had to know to tell Ruby. There was no one she could tell this too. Except…

Penny’s eyes - previously brilliant sea green, now a failing, dulling green - shot open in alarm. She strained to turn her head, glancing up at the bed to her left that held Friend Nora’s barely conscious body. 

Nora was much in the same boat as her right now - she had a moment since Salem’s forces had arrived on Atlas’ doorsteps where she shone bright, but after that, all that remained was a husk of that moment, struggling to maintain, like the core of a star after it had gone supernova.

“N...Nora…” Penny struggled, fighting her body’s urge to keep her stationary and save as much energy as she could for what little time she may have left as she crawled her way over to the bed.

“Penny,” came the hoarse reply, the once thunderous energy of Nora Valkyrie reduced to a whisper after her stunt back at the Atlas Military complex, “you should… resting.”

“Nora, I… I cannot rest now.” Her hand, charred from her fall from the edge of the world and broken from the impact and the fight that had happened prior, crested the mattress and gripped down on the bed sheet, its grip vice like as the other came up to join it in hauling Penny’s dying body up onto the bed. “I fear my time is ending.”

There was worry in Nora’s expression, even if it was miniscule from all of her muscles and bones screaming at her still. Fortunately, Penny was still outfitted with the best hardware Atlas had to offer; she saw the small expression change even when everyone else would not have been able to.

“Can’t die Penny,” she told her, finally turning her head enough to see the struggling android crawling onto the mattress fully, the Atlas-White sheets stained immediately with what green liquid was spilling from Penny. “Ruby…”

“Nor-r-r-ra,” Penny stuttered, fear crossing her expression as her verbal components started giving out, “I need you to pass some information onto Ruby for me.”

“But I-”

“ _Please!_ ”

Her turquoise eyes could barely remain open for long, but Nora caught Penny’s expression, green muting in her gaze as it diluted to grey. She held that gaze. Held it. Gave into it. Nodded.

“I want her to know that she w-w-w-was my-y-y-y best friend. I wish fo-o-o-or her to know that.”

Nora nodded again.

Penny closed her eyes, reaching deep within herself to find the power that Fria had granted her upon her passing. “I want you to let her know that I am sor-or-or-orry for what may happen now, but she is the one person I trust. Please tell her I am sorry.” When her eyes opened, they were accompanied by flames, magical in nature and still the bright green her eyes were. Nora nodded once more, glancing up at the small thundercloud that the Winter Maiden was summoning behind her head.

“Penny…”

The android, fighting with every ounce of energy in her, continued forming the cloud, sparks of green lightning arcing across the darkness of the cloud. “I want you to te-e-e-ell her that I… love her.” The lightning grew in intensity.

“Penny, stop!”

“I want you to tell her, Nora,” Penny exclaimed, battling the wind she was stirring up with the emotions she was feeling. “I want you to tell Ruby.” She gripped the girl’s hand. “This should help you.” 

With a scrunch of her face, focussing everything she had into this moment, Penny willed the lightning she had summoned behind her to arc from the cloud and strike Nora in the shoulder.

Green electricity surged through Nora’s veins, pumping energy and life into her system, even if she had no Aura to truly manage it properly. But this wasn’t like the Electrogate yesterday, where the surge just kept coming and coming until Nora had no choice but to withdraw and wreck shop, this was a short, concentrated burst of power that gave her the juice to jumpstart the batteries without overcharging them.

“Wow!” she called out, her usual bubbliness resurfacing with the energy inside her, “that was just what I needed Pen-”

Laying beside Nora, eyes open but unfocussed and grey, magical fire extinguished around her face, a single streak of oil falling out of her left eye, was the now powered down and completely inert body of Penny Polendina, dead once more, maybe forevermore.

All Nora could do in this moment was stare in shock and horror. She couldn’t be strong, not now. Not when her friend just gave her life to give her a pick-me-up, when she died essentially in her arms.

And all she could think of now, as she stared outside at the flashes of lightning in the sky, burning tears running from her eyes, was how if she couldn’t be strong, she’d need to find a way to hit things!

~~~~~

Weiss cried out as she was thrown backwards by a front kick by Emerald, her heels and rapier digging into the ground to slow her down to a skidding halt. Neo and Blake were all but playing tag with one another, as every time it looked like one of them managed to make solid contact with the other, their opponent would either shatter into pieces, or disappear in a puff of dark smoke. And Ruby was doing her best fighting off the Fall Maiden, keeping the crazed woman at a distance as best she could, using her semblance to dart around her faster than she could react, irking the part-Grimm more and more with every second.

“I know you’re keeping her here!” Cinder growled, irritation skyrocketing as another shot from Crescent Rose made contact with her shoulder, a dozen burning blades materialising around her in response. “Stop wasting everyone’s time and _give her to me!_ ” With desperation in her voice, she flung the blades at the silver eyed warrior, drawing a yelp out of her as three blades struck true; there were only so many she could defend herself against.

“You’re already the Fall Maiden,” Ruby tried reasoning, using her weapon as a crutch to stand up, legs sore from the longest day she’d felt like she’d had all year. “Why do you need the Winter Maiden powers too?”

“Because that is what I am _owed!_ ” she screamed back. “I was nothing before I met Salem, and now I have more power than nearly anyone else on Remnant. But that’s not enough. The Winter Maiden’s powers were _mine_ to own, and your little robot friend stole them from me!”

“ _You_ were going to steal them, Penny was trusted with those powers.”

“You don’t know a thing about this, girl,” she growled, summoning two burning hot blades and smashing the ends together, creating a bow and arrows that were knocked and now aiming at Ruby. “Salem’s pet will find her if I don’t. It will take your precious Maiden back to her, and the Vault will be opened, but then the power is _mine,_ it was _promised to me!_ Or, I could tak-”

Cinder was cut off by the sound of a large crash of exploding mortar and metal, and a clap of thunder too close to be from the weather that travelled with the Grimm Whale monstrosity parked on the fields of Atlas. Everyone halted their attacks on one another and stared out towards the Schnee manor, the source of the sound.

Neo’s eyes widened first at the sudden brewing of low storm clouds from that direction, her mind returning to the fight outside Lil’ Miss Malachite’s establishment and Cinder’s first demonstration of Maiden powers. The mute was thankful that she didn’t have to face off against those sorts of powers now that she had allied with Cinder, but now seeing these anew, her fear of the magic the android girl possessed was renewed.

Ruby’s smile grew. Weiss’ butler must have managed to get her up into working order, and Penny was able to join them and tip the balance of the fight in their favour. 

But Cinder’s smile also grew. 

And unlike Ruby’s grin of relief and happiness, Cinder’s was a twisted grin coated in malice. Her prize didn’t even need to be searched for, it was making itself known, and likely bringing itself right to them.

It was only after a few moments when the first strands of ginger hair appeared before them did people’s expressions change.

Cinder grew confused at the sight, before a sense of anger crossed her face.

For the members of Team RWB_, it was less confusion and more sorrow. Weiss gasped, bringing her hand up to her face, eyes immediately watery. Blake’s ears flattened against her head, a sad glance of understanding cast towards their friend.

Ruby was lost entirely, rivers of tears overflowing from pools of silver immediately, the battle ignored. Before them all was not the newly repaired body of Penny Polendina, but instead the revitalised body of Nora Valkyrie marching towards the battlefield.

Nora was clothed very minimally in simple shorts, a vest and her boots, bandages still clearly wrapped around her arms and chest. An angry storm cloud following her, arcs of pink lightning jumping around the dark mass above her head and to her body, jolting her and giving their hammer wielding friend a boost to her power, and turquoise flames flickering out from her eyes.

Seeing Nora was not a happy sight. It meant that Ruby had lost Penny again, and that somehow Nora was the last person in her thoughts, making her the new Winter Maiden.

And much like before, all she could do was sink to her knees in tears.

“I may not be good at a lot of things,” Nora announced to the six of them, expression darkening on seeing Cinder’s almost greedy look, “but I am great at two: being strong-” the newly appointed Maiden crouched down into a running stance, Magnhild readied behind her as the storm cloud grew ferocious and shot three, five, eight small bolts of lightning at her, her body sparking with raw energy. With a speed to rival even Ruby, she let a burst of her Winter Maiden powers out, icy jets of flames following her as she closed the distance between her and the Fall Maiden, her weapon swung back fully as a powerful left foot planted itself just by Cinder’s flank. 

“-and hitting things.”

With the bolts of lightning she was generating striking her form and charging her body with every strike, kicking her Semblance into overdrive and vastly increasing her strength, Cinder barely had time to start uttering a panicked curse before the new Maiden Nora Valkyrie slammed her warhammer into her form at breakneck speeds with unbridled fury. 

There was a raw power behind the strike unlike any other hit the fiery woman had ever had the displeasure of being on the receiving end of before. To the remaining onlookers that were aware enough to comprehend the events unfolding, they even saw how Nora didn’t even need to use the recoil of her weapon to increase the striking force; this was all her.

With a cry that was all rage and sorrow, Nora swung hard. So hard, in fact, that Cinder was thrown up and away at supersonic speeds, if the delayed sonic boom as she flew away was anything to go by, the blast sending a shockwave out that blew all the snow on the ground away from the epicentre of the explosion. Cinder went flying away at such an angle and with such velocity that anyone could see she would be careening off the side of Atlas and down into the tundra of Mantle below. 

“Cinder!” Emerald cried out, seeing her frie… her collea… ment… seeing Cinder thrown not only out of the Schnee property, but off the floating Kingdom of Atlas in its entirety from one strike of the girl before her. Not fancying her chances fighting against that _,_ and especially considering that this was now twice in as many days that Cinder had - for lack of a better way of putting it - had her shit thoroughly wrecked by the Winter Maiden, Emerald turned tail and ran back towards where Neo had landed the Atlas jet they had flown here on. “Come on!”

Neo glanced over at her opponents, at her main target, the sole reason for her even joining forces with Cinder in the first place. Ruby, while having recovered a little from moments ago, was still a bit shaken. It’d be so easy to get what she’d wanted, what she’d been waiting for for all this time. 

She thought about it… but honestly, she didn’t want to have to go through the Faunus and the Schnee _and_ the new Maiden, just for revenge. 

It wasn’t worth the risk.

With a slight understanding tip of the hat towards Nora, who by this point was gazing at the ice cream themed woman with a subsiding rage but the fires still burning bright around her eyes, Neo flourished her umbrella and shattered before them all, likely taking off in the direction of Emerald.

There was a collective breath shared between the four girls as they let the moment that had just transpired sink in, the distant rumbles of thunder still booming behind them as the ones from nearby petered out. Nora let the clouds around her head and the fire in her eyes dissipate too, leaving her standing there as normal. 

Blake and Weiss ran over to their friend, enveloping her in a crushing hug, happy to see her standing if nothing else. 

Ruby hobbled over to Nora. She wasn’t badly injured - grazed and bruised maybe, but not much more than that - but she was broken on seeing Nora standing there as she was. Each step from the young leader was accompanied by the realisation that Penny wasn’t here anymore, those thoughts making every step a chore. Those thoughts taking over her mind, making it known to her that once again she’d let her friend die.

She reached Nora, expression blank even as tears fell from her eyes, and kneeled down in the snow, legs finally buckling under her emotional trauma.

“I’m sorry Ruby,” Nora said as she lowered herself to her friend's level, her voice audibly stronger than it had been when they first got to the Schnee Manor but breaking a little with the words she spoke. “She loved you, you know.”

Much like that fabled straw, hearing the words “she loved you” broke Ruby, after days of having to fight away her emotions and be the beacon of light and strength in these dark times for her friends, she couldn’t hold back any more, and she let herself weep. She wept for the ongoing destruction of Atlas, for the lives being put at risk by General Ironwood’s tyrannical regime, for the deaths of innocents and soldiers, of strangers and friends and... those so close that giving it a name makes it almost lose its meaning. She wept, and threw her arms around Nora, who accepted the hug as any friend would - even as the new Maiden felt immense guilt knowing that it was almost certainly her fault that Penny could not hold her best friend in her final thoughts as she passed.

They could all speculate the meaning behind how and why this all happened the way it did, but that was not what they were focussing on right now. Right now, they weren’t soldiers debriefing after a mission, they weren’t Huntresses, they weren’t an ex-Heiress, daughter of a politician, a warrior of legend or a newly appointed Maiden; they were just four young women, huddled around each other on a cold Atlas afternoon, a never-ending sea of Grimm spilling from the mouth of a giant Whale Grimm a couple of miles away, all mourning a loss far more personal than any of them could have foretold they would experience this day.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year, y'all! *nervous chuckle*
> 
> So, this idea came from not only that moment in the teaser for part two of this rollercoaster of a volume, but also part of the intro to Volume 8 where it fades from Penny by the cracked mirror to a snowflake landing on Ren's hand that turns into a petal, which floats past Nora in the next shot. Honestly, I thought it landed in Nora's hand, but the idea was seeded and I wanted to run with it!
> 
> I just think that having Nora as the next Winter Maiden could open up a lot of opportunities for things to get crazy, especially if she was to go all Trial-by-Fire on herself and test the upper limits of her Semblance by striking herself with lightning. Not having to wait for someone to hit her with lightning dust, or for an Electrogate to appear in their path, just "A'ight, gimme a sec, just gonna zap meself and go Super Saiyan on this bitch," (because come on, she TOTALLY looked like a ginger Super Saiyan when that happen in Chapter 3!)  
> She'd become her own (nigh)infinite source of electrical energy. But for that to happen, Penny would need to die and pass on her powers, and with how the pair of them are fairing right now as of the mid-season break, I don't really see Penny making it out of this volume in one piece. Or if she does, she'd be down a father to cash in her final "Extra Life" token.
> 
> Let's hope everyone's 2021 is far better than 2020 was! Remember, it isn't over until it is gone from EVERYWHERE, so wear a mask, be safe, be sensible.


End file.
